Talking about the low broadband adoption and availability in the US and the slow pace in addressing broadband-related issues, the Federal Communications Commission Julius Genachowski said, at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, that nearly 24 million Americans currently lack access to broadband and that the country ranks rather low in terms of broadband adoption.

Referring to a recent study that ranked 40 developed countries on the basis of their international competitiveness and capacity to innovate, Genachowski said during his on-stage interview with journalist John Heilemann: "When it comes to broadband, we're not where we should be as a country. That scares me"

Noting that even though the US ranked sixth overall, but last in terms of the rate of improvement in these criteria in the coming years, Genachowski said that the country still has an opportunity "to lead the world in mobile broadband" - more so as it got a good start on the road to 4G.

While expressing the apprehension that the increasingly powerful devices like smartphones and tablets are likely to put intense demands on the available spectrum; Genachowski also mentioned that the FCC is currently involved in an ongoing attempt to transform the US$8 billion Universal Service Fund, by changing its key focus from propagation of phone service access to promotion of broadband in the country.